Chapter 71: One Shot Piercing the Clouds! (6000-character chapter, seeking first order!)
Shaya slowly rose, looking down at the dense crowd surrounding him.
A solemn imperial power manifested in his crimson-gold eyes.
Although Shaya’s figure, clad in a trench coat, appeared slender, he seemed to the cultists as if seated on a high throne, accompanied by an army of ten thousand horses.
Golden ripples spread out from beneath his feet.
Invisible and intangible, their edges shimmered with pure crimson gold. Silently, centered on Shaya’s stance, they expanded in all directions.
Elemental fluctuations, energy, slashes…
All attacks, upon touching that crimson-gold domain, dissipated silently, without so much as a ripple.
The leader of the Twilight Cultists’ eyes reflected disbelief.
He suddenly looked up, his lips moving, about to say something to Shaya.
But in the next moment.
BOOM—
The cultist leader’s body collapsed, falling prone to the ground.
His leader’s withered hands convulsed, pressing against the ground, his bones creaking and鳴响ing.
It wasn’t that the owner of the golden eyes possessed such majesty that he was forced to prostrate himself purely by aura.
As the leader, his faith in Twilight was far more steadfast than that of ordinary cultists, not easily shaken.
However, he had no choice but to prostrate himself.
The hard ground beneath him cracked with a鸣响, splitting open.
It was as if a colossal force was being applied to the leader’s body, forcing him into a posture of worship.
If he hadn’t lowered himself, the cultist leader’s spine would have been directly snapped.
And his condition was the best among everyone present.
Among his less skilled followers, many had been crushed to the ground, unconscious.
Blood mist erupted from their bodies. Under an unimaginable gravity, tens of times greater than normal, the bones supporting their torsos snapped, shattering and deforming along with their capillaries.
Whether Beast Tamers or their summoned familiars, none were spared within the crimson-gold imperial domain.
A domain-type skill…
However, to maintain such a large-scale domain that could simultaneously suppress so many high-level beings, his mental energy consumption must be considerable.
It was possible that activating this domain alone had consumed all his focus, leaving him unable to launch a powerful offense.
But they were numerous. Even if he killed some of them, as long as they could hold on until the domain collapsed, it would be an opportunity to counter-attack.
For their master’s resurrection, any sacrifice was worth it.
Such thoughts merely flashed through the cultist leader’s mind.
The next moment.
The cultist leader’s ears were filled with a metallic, resonant voice that seemed to come from the primeval, ancient past.
The meaning of that word was—
“Death.”
A thousandth of a second later.
The command was issued to all beings within the imperial domain, except for Shaya himself and Sylvia in his arms.
Thump—
Thump—
One after another, the sounds of heavy objects hitting the ground resounded.
The entire street returned to a deathly silence, with only the crackling of burning houses in the background.
Shaya’s crimson-gold eyes slowly faded, returning to their original indifferent black.
He said nothing more, walking forward silently.
Shaya’s figure passed through one lifeless, still body after another, then paused before the leader of the cultists.
He squatted down and rummaged through the corpse.
Then, he took out a dull yellow crystal.
“Is this what caused those wild, masterless familiars to lose their intelligence and reason, thus degenerating into bloodthirsty and frenzied calamity beasts?”
Shaya examined the hexagonal crystal.
In the reflection of the town’s fires, the crystal gleamed with a dull yellow light, appearing eerie and mysterious.
It was obvious at a glance that it was valuable.
“If I were to sell this to the Dawn Holy See or the Shadow Council, the price would likely start at thirty to forty thousand Rhine gold coins.”
Shaya chuckled lightly, and his fingers exerted a slight force.
Crack.
The dull yellow crystal emitted a crisp鳴响, and cracks appeared on its surface.
Then, it shattered completely.
And with the shattering of this dull yellow crystal.
In the ruins of the town in the distance, the steps of the giant calamity beasts suddenly halted.
The twilight halo that had enveloped their eyes vanished, returning to its original clarity, with a hint of bewilderment.
However, Shaya, having destroyed the source of the calamity beasts’ rampage, paid no further attention to anything in the city.
He had more important matters to attend to.
Shaya’s steps did not appear fast, but the surrounding scenery changed rapidly.
Soon, the low-rise houses disappeared.
In their place stood a silent, deep, and dark colossal mansion.
The Grand Duke’s Mansion occupied the central position of the Royal Capital of the Azure Court, existing independently, with a small river encircling it, not connected to the external residential areas.
Therefore, the rampant fires in the outer city had not yet encroached upon the Grand Duke’s Mansion.
The giant Twilight Calamity Beasts also seemed to sense some crisis, or receive some command, consciously avoiding this place.
As a result, this silent mansion presented a stark contrast to the burning ruins of the city outside.
Though separated by only a river, it felt divided into two worlds.
Shaya’s footsteps echoed in the vast and silent Grand Duke’s Mansion.
Normally, even at night, this mansion was brightly lit.
The family of a Grand Duke naturally would not be stingy with the energy crystals for Magic Lamps.
But at this moment, the interior of the Grand Duke’s Mansion was pitch-black and silent.
It was as if some dark, deep abyss lurked within.
Shaya’s footsteps stopped in a room deep inside.
Through the heavy door, Shaya detected a faint scent of blood.
Shaya raised his hand and lightly rapped three times on the heavy iron door, paused for a moment, and then rapped twice more.
“Come in.”
Norton’s voice came from inside the door.
Shaya pushed the door open and entered.
Without the obstruction of the metal door, the faint scent of blood instantly became thick and pungent.
Norton’s aged figure appeared in the shadows, no longer hunched as he usually presented himself to family members.
Ambition nourished his entire being, straightening Norton’s body, eroded by time, gradually returning him to his youthful appearance.
He was idly twirling a bloodstained dagger in his hand.
And in the shadows behind Norton, a shadowy phantom figure watched Shaya, who had pushed the door open, with murderous eyes.
Only when Norton waved his hand did the murderous gaze disappear, along with the aura locked onto Shaya.
This old man is not simple!
He had dealt with the elders within the family who opposed his ambition, as well as the strong individuals among the Twilight Cultists who had infiltrated the Grand Duke’s Mansion and attempted to break the seal underground?
Shaya grumbled inwardly.
A considerable number of the Brunnhildr Family’s elders were Fourth Ring Beast Masters.
The cultist experts sent to infiltrate the mansion should also be of a similar rank.
To think they had all perished so silently, without causing a stir.
But then again, without harboring such hidden strength as his foundation, how could Norton have conceived of such audacious ambition?
If Norton’s ambitious plan to usurp divine authority truly succeeded—
It wouldn’t just be the human faction on the side of order that wouldn’t tolerate him, but even the Lost Kingdoms and the Abyss.
How would a cult that revered Evil Gods as supreme beings permit a mortal to covet supreme authority and the divine throne?
Norton glanced at Shaya, who stood expressionless and unharmed.
Then, his gaze lowered to the maiden sleeping peacefully in Shaya’s arms, and he nodded with satisfaction.
“You’ve done even better than I imagined.”
“When I ascend to that supreme divine throne.”
“Perhaps you will not only be the emperor of a secular divine kingdom, but can go even further—”
“Become the Vice Lord of Heaven, the Right Hand of God.”
Good heavens—
He’s already celebrating prematurely?
But it makes sense. Since he’s eliminated the strong individuals from the Brunnhildr Family and the cultists, only his own people remain—
Norton’s current mindset is probably: “I’ve got the ultimate advantage, how can I possibly lose?”
Shaya muttered inwardly again, but outwardly showed no sign of being disturbed.
His face trembled slightly at the mention of “Vice Lord of Heaven” and “Right Hand of God,” and he spoke in a voice stifled with desire:
“Lord Norton, I never aspired to so much.”
“I am already content to simply be by Lord Norton’s side.”
“You don’t have to act like this in front of me.”
Norton’s voice softened, and he patted Shaya’s shoulder.
“Humans, as a species, are beasts driven by desire.”
“It is merely that in normal times, due to various external constraints, we bind ourselves with meaningless rules like morality, profit, and shame.”
“However, it is precisely the existence of desire and ambition that drives civilization forward and develops it.”
“Chasing power, embracing authority, craving beauty, harboring the ambition to reach higher—there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Norton gazed at the dagger stained with the blood of countless people in his hand with his indifferent eyes.
“Among the family elders, there were those with great strength, even talents and strategies comparable to mine.”
“But now they are all dead, and I am still alive.”
“This is the price those fools paid for trusting in ethereal, unreliable human nature.”
He looked at Shaya and spoke word by word.
“Remember, my child.”
“Lose humanity, lose much.”
“Lose beastliness, lose everything!”
“In order to become the ruler of the divine kingdom in the future and my right-hand man, this is a principle you must learn.”
You’re Vede too?
You really think you’re some kind of guru? A medieval old man is trying to educate me on my worldview.
Shaya maintained a calm expression and bowed slightly: “My lord, I have learned my lesson.”
“Very good.”
Norton nodded with satisfaction.
Having just completed such a shocking and grand plan, he naturally needed someone to share his pride with and satisfy his urge to express himself.
But Norton’s smile quickly faded.
He pushed open the metal door in front of him and headed into a hidden passage deeper within the mansion.
Shaya followed silently.
The two walked one after the other. Norton strolled through the hidden passage, passing by doors protected by profound warning formations.
However, each time, Norton would take out a token-like object from his pocket, dispelling the crimson warning formations.
They descended, passing through one sealed door after another, forged from heavy bronze and fine iron, and Norton successively changed seven or eight tokens and amulets from his hand.
Only when, according to Shaya’s spiritual sense, they were more than thirty meters underground did Norton stop.
What greeted their eyes was a dark and vast plaza.
An incredibly magnificent array, dozens of meters long and wide, was outlined with faint golden divine patterns, covering the entire ground of the plaza.
As soon as they entered, Shaya sensed an indescribable majestic presence, pulsing erratically beneath the complex sealing formation in the plaza.
This was the greatest secret of the Brunnhildr Family.
Deep beneath the mansion, a half-body of a living ancient god was sealed.
“This is the place where Twilight is sealed.”
Norton straightened his back, his aged eyes gleaming with fervor.
“He is such a great being, representing what lies beyond the legendary, the supreme divine realm that no one has ever touched since recorded history.”
“Yet, faced with such an opportunity, both the legendary experts who came to reinforce and the patriarch chose only to seal it—an act of evasion…”
“All merely because they feared that the loss of control caused by studying a god might affect innocent civilians nearby.”
“How cowardly, how ridiculous!”
“If the lives of tens of millions of lowly people can be exchanged for the coronation of a king, then it is worth it.”
“In this world of the survival of the fittest, only by drawing nutrients from the lower class by any means necessary can one climb to the very top!”
“History is written by the victors. When you become the sole winner of the world, everyone will only canonize you as a saint, no matter how many bones you trampled on to get there!”
Norton took a deep breath, and his aged face finally returned to tranquility. “Let’s begin.”
“Yes.”
Shaya nodded and slowly walked to a corner of the formation.
Then, he gently placed the maiden in his arms onto the array core outlined by the faint golden divine patterns.
Shaya stepped out of the sealing array range.
Norton, without hesitation, stepped into another array core of the sealing array.
The moment he stood firm.
One by one, dull yellow divine lights appeared from under his feet.
This was a seal laid by a Legendary Beast Master and several Titled Beast Masters.
Theoretically, unless a legendary expert of equal caliber descended, there was no possibility of it being broken by external force.
However, external enemies are easy to guard against, but internal enemies are difficult.
Having spent more than ten years secretly planning and arranging, Norton, as the acting patriarch, had long mastered every aspect and detail of this sealing array.
Therefore, at this moment, having found Sylvia as the sole key, Twilight was breaking free.
It was not as the cultists had envisioned, forcing the seal with absolute power to let Twilight’s majesty reappear in the world.
Under Norton’s meticulously designed steps, the sealed divine power seeped out at an extremely slow rate—
Then, after purification, it flowed bit by bit into Norton’s body.
A dull yellow halo rose around Norton, but his eyes remained clear.
Under Norton’s control, this Twilight Divine Power did not violently turn them into madmen who only praised Twilight, as it did the brainwashed cultists and familiars, but gently transformed his body.
And his aura began to surge and rise with the fluctuating waves.
Joy appeared on Norton’s aged face.
His decade-long scheme had not gone wrong.
He was truly embarking on the Path to Godhood.
Although what was sealed underground was not a complete god, but merely a half-body of the Twilight Ancient God.
And because it had been sealed for so long, much of its magnificent divine power had dissipated over time, less than a tenth of what it was during the Divine Descent.
Even if he absorbed all the divine power sealed underground in the Royal Capital of the Azure Court, Norton would only reach the Legendary level.
However, unlike ordinary Legendary experts.
This was undeniably, albeit incomplete, divine authority.
With time, by accumulating faith, he could fill the void of the incomplete authority—
Then he could surpass the Legendary, truly touching the divine realm.
The familiar power fluctuation caused Sylvia to slowly awaken from her deep slumber.
She opened her eyes from the cold ground and scanned her surroundings.
The wild surge of Twilight Divine Power around her, which she knew intimately—and Norton, with a face full of joy, his eyes closed, accepting the transformation of the Twilight Divine Power.
This made Sylvia instantly understand everything.
Elder Norton…
Was he the perpetrator of this betrayal?
Frankly, Sylvia had had a good impression of Elder Norton in the past.
Because Norton was one of the few elder family members who did not show hatred towards her, and even inquired about her recent situation with concern.
But now it seemed—
It was all fake.
It was merely the pretense of a chess player towards his chess piece.
The life named “Sylvia” was like a play already arranged by someone else.
All her joy, sorrow, the light in her despair, her yearning and hope… were in fact lies carefully crafted by others.
The maiden yearning for light ran clumsily in the darkness, waving her arms, attempting to grasp a sliver of faint light.
And those who staged this play merely stood behind the scenes, pointing and commenting on the clumsy performance of the actors on stage.
Sylvia lay quietly on the cold ground, feeling the power within her Bronze Cross, along with her life force, draining away bit by bit.
When Norton completely usurped the Twilight authority.
That would be the day of her death.
Yes, in their eyes, she was merely a key.
And a key whose utility had been lost could only be broken in the keyhole.
Sylvia tilted her head slightly, her vacant eyes looking towards the silent black-haired youth beside her.
Brother Shaya.
Sylvia spoke in her heart, a silent monologue.
Despite suffering such betrayal, at this moment, facing Shaya, the familiar address was still what flashed through Sylvia’s mind.
For no reason, perhaps simply out of habit.
For some reason, at the final moments of her life.
Facing Shaya, Sylvia did not feel much malice or hatred in her heart.
Compared to her clansmen who from the beginning saw her as a wolf and found it too dirty to even chat with her for a few sentences.
Brother Shaya, at least, was willing to come to her side and accompany her through the act.
He even allowed Sylvia to experience the scenery of the world of light before her death.
Though it was but a fleeting light, she was already content.
Sylvia’s life force continued to drain faster.
On the other side, the dull yellow divine power transformed into flames, burning fiercely around Norton.
At this moment, Norton had devoted his entire being to the process of advancement.
Norton had a premonition.
With just one more step, he would complete his transformation.
From human, to demigod.
This was an unprecedented feat. Others in the Western Continent might have achieved something similar in the past, but there were no clear and distinct records.
Even if a Legendary Beast Master were present, they would likely fix their gaze on Norton at this moment, fearing to miss the instant he crossed the boundary between human and god.
But Sylvia ignored Norton’s actions.
She merely looked silently at the familiar yet strange person beside her.
In the final moments of her life, Sylvia wanted to imprint Shaya’s figure into the deepest part of her soul.
But.
The next moment.
Sylvia’s eyes suddenly widened.
She saw the black-haired, black-eyed youth, who had been standing at a distance with his head bowed, who had not even looked at her before.
At this moment, he suddenly raised his head.
In Shaya’s cupped hand.
A silver-white firearm materialized out of thin air.
Its streamlined barrel pointed straight at Norton, who was consumed by fervor in the distance.
A thousandth of a breath later.
His slender finger pulled the trigger.
Click—
The muzzle erupted with intense flame.
Illuminating Sylvia’s hollow, lifeless eyes.
I wrote 16,000 characters today, and I’ve burned out completely, not a drop left.
I’ve been writing since I woke up until 9 PM, I’m a bit dizzy, so there might be some problems with the text, I hope you’ll forgive me.
Finally, please vote for the monthly ticket!
